Firestone police arrest off-duty Longmont officer on suspicion of DUI

LONGMONT -- A Longmont police officer is on paid administrative leave awaiting the results of an internal investigation and criminal investigation following a Jan. 21 DUI arrest, according to police.

Firestone police stopped off-duty Longmont Police Officer Robert Goodard on suspicion of speeding at about 1:29 a.m. on Jan. 21 on the 2000 block of Firestone Boulevard, according to Firestone Police Chief David Montgomery. The officer suspected Goodard of driving under the influence and asked him to submit to roadside tests. Goodard complied, Montgomery said, and mentioned to the Firestone officer that he knew the tests because he is a Longmont officer.

"Nothing else was said about that throughout the report," Montgomery said, adding that Goodard was driving a personal vehicle.

Goodard was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and driving under the influence, per se, Montgomery said.

He was issued a misdemeanor summons to court and released to a sober driver. He consented to a blood test, but Montgomery said the results have not yet been returned to the police department. He said they will be available prior to any court hearing Goodard will face.

He said Goodard was neither given preferential treatment, nor did he request. Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said Goodard contacted the Longmont Police Department on Monday about his arrest. He was placed on paid administrative leave pending a professional standards unit -- or PSU -- investigation and the results of the criminal investigation.

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While two Boulder police officers have recently faced DUI charges, Satur said he does not believe it is an issue Longmont has faced often.

"We don't believe it is a problem within the Longmont Police Department and as an agency we always discuss these things with our command staff and, you know, incidents like this always make us self reflect and see if there are things we need to put into place," he said.

Satur said PSU investigations typically take between 30 and 45 days to complete, depending on the complexity of a case. Montgomery said he did not have Goodard's court date immediately available. Court records do not yet reflect the arrest.